Study Description and Methods

This project assessed the usability of a hepatitis C virus (HCV) manual in primary care practices for counseling and testing asymptomatic patients who are at risk for or potentially infected with HCV.

The manual is intended to help with counseling patients who have no ongoing risk exposure and who may have been infected with HCV 20 or more years ago, often through a single or short-term episode.

Specific Aims and Objectives

The purpose of field testing the manual was to ascertain whether, given its current design and content, primary care practices like yours would find it useful, adequate for counseling these patients, and manageable in terms of workflow and your patient care environment. Information concerning acceptability to the patient, acceptability to the care team member using it, areas for improvement, and anything else that was learned from using the manual was collected to provide critical information on how to improve the manual.

Timeline

This project was conducted from July 2012 through October 2013.

Status

This study is complete.

Key Findings and Publications

The Guide to Comprehensive Hepatitis C Counseling and Testing has been released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). This field assessment was conducted under contract with the Battelle Memorial Institute and the American Academy of Family Physicians National Research Network (AAFP NRN).

The purpose of the manual is to provide guidance for hepatitis C counseling and testing of individuals born during 1945– 1965. The guide was used in draft form as part of a field assessment conducted among primary care providers in the AAFP NRN, who field tested the manual and provided recommendations for improving its utility.

Two versions are available, for use in both primary care practices and public health settings.